As the GP federation for Newcastle, we employ more than 50 people across a range of roles including a nursing team, practice-based social prescribing link workers, researchers, and finance and management support staff. The following people are based at our HQ in Gosforth. We also employ the largest social prescribing team in the North East. To get in touch with any of our team, please use our contact form.
Rebecca Haynes
Rebecca joined NGPS in 2017 and became our Chief Executive on 1 October 2022. She previously worked for Deloitte, chartered as an accountant, and managed audits for multinational FTSE 100 companies. Rebecca advised NHS trust chief execs, Chairs and leadership teams on strategy and governance as part of Deloitte’s National NHS Board Advisory Team before leaving to join the NHS. She spent five years as part of the senior R&D Finance team at Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals and two years as our Chief Operating Officer prior to her appointment as CEO.
Rebecca plays an active role in women’s groups in the Northeast including acting as a Trustee for Tyneside Women’s Health for three years and serving as Trustee Treasurer for Rape Crisis for six years. She lives in Whitley Bay with her husband John, children Seb and Annabelle and puppy, Robin.
corporate services team
vanessa knowles
Vanessa joined NGPS in November 2023 as Head of Finance & Corporate Services.
She has 15 years NHS experience as a qualified accountant working in secondary care, the majority of which was spent at Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals. Vanessa has worked across a variety of roles within Finance including Financial Management, Transformation, R&D and Financial Services.
Vanessa lives in Northumberland with her husband and three daughters. She enjoys running and spending time with family & friends.
Lisa Wooton
Lisa joined NGPS in February 2020 and is a PCN and Business Intelligence Manager. She previously worked in various roles in a large national mental health charity for 15 years, including business development, tendering, and all aspects of governance including carrying out audits and incident management. More recently she worked for NECS (North of England Commissioning Support Unit) providing governance support around equality and diversity for 10 CCGs.
Lisa lives in Sunderland with her husband and two of her three children and enjoys socialising and eating out.
Nicole Stanley
Nicole joined our team in February 2023 as our Assistant Accountant. She previously worked as an Assistant Manager in the hospitality industry before deciding on a career change in accountancy. She has studied AAT and previously worked in a motor trade industry accounts department.
She lives in South Shields with her two dogs, enjoys reading history books and countryside walks.
Alice walker-hayes
Alice joined the team in February 2023. Her role as Assistant Accountant includes payroll and pensions, NGPS finances and practice finances. She is currently working towards her CIMA accounting qualification.
Alice lives in Northumberland with her husband and daughter and enjoys running, music and reading. She is currently on maternity leave.
NIGEL Thomas
Nigel joined NGPS in August 2025 as part of his university placement year. He is currently studying Accounting and Finance at Newcastle University and is gaining hands-on experience with the finance team during his time with us.
As a placement student, Nigel supports a range of finance tasks, developing skills in financial reporting, analysis and NHS systems. He is passionate about using his academic knowledge in a real-world healthcare setting and is keen to pursue a career in accountancy after graduating.
Nigel lives in Newcastle during term time and enjoys exploring the city, going to the gym, and watching football in his spare time.
clinical services team
Emily Maughan
Emily started with the team in October 2020, after completing the NHS Graduate Management Training Scheme. In that time, she worked as an assistant service line manager and assistant locality manager in acute and mental health trusts, focusing on operational management, service improvement, and project management.
At NGPS, she is our Head of Clinical Services, working on projects including our flexible workforce team, outreach services and research and development. Emily lives in Northumberland with her husband Dave. She enjoys the great outdoors, has a love for animals and has previously worked as a zookeeper.
Gavin Watt
Gavin started with NGPS in May 2025, having spent nearly 13 years working in private and corporate healthcare. Initially he worked as a Health and Wellbeing Physiologist conducting in-depth health assessments, then moved into operational management of various multi-disciplinary teams and service lines. At NGPS he is our Operations Manager, overseeing management of our outreach programmes, clinical standards and quality compliance. He also drives future commercial opportunities and identifies possible funding streams. Gavin lives in Gosforth with his wife Emma and their dog (Harley) and cat (Willow). Outside of work you’ll often find him hacking his way round the golf course.
Dr dan jefferson
Dan is a Newcastle graduate and has worked almost exclusively in urgent care in general practice. Before joining NGPS he worked for 20 years with VOCARE doing clinical work alongside other projects and was also a GP lecturer at Newcastle University from 2008-2025. He achieved Senior Fellow status and also completed a Masters project that focused on inequalities in Mental Health. Dan is on the CNTW steering group for working to improve mental health for minoritised communities
He enjoys reading, has an extensive vinyl collection and also attends a boxing club in Shiremoor.
sharmistha das
Sharmistha joined NGPS in November 2022 and is our Project Manager working on the Flexipool project. She has several years’ experience in programme/project and performance management, with a particular interest in service improvement. She is passionate about seeing public services survive and thrive.
Sharmistha lives in Newcastle with her daughter and other half where they love working on their allotment and trying different places to eat. She also loves to read and tries to knit!
haritha harikumar
Haritha is our Administrator at NGPS, offering support with GP onboarding and compliance as part of the Flexipool team. She has previously worked as a Clinical Cardiac Perfusionist for five years and later achieved a Masters in public health from Northumbria University.
She lives in Newcastle with friends and enjoys cooking, crafting, and travel and embarked on her journey from India to Newcastle for exciting career opportunities and the vibrant cultural scene.
Jo swift
Jo is one of our two Social Prescribing Managers and supports the link workers and navigators in our social prescribing team who provide services at every practice in the city. She supports the team to help people access non-medical services that improve their health and well-being. She is passionate about community development and connecting people in order for them to live a safe, happy and healthy life. Outside of work, she enjoys time with her three children, two gorgeous grandsons, and two grandogs. She also loves travelling, strong coffee, and gardening. Read more about the social prescribing team.
Megan batchelor
Meg is our other Social Prescribing Manager and joined NGPS in February 2020 following the completion of her Sociology Degree at Newcastle University. Meg has worked as a Social Prescribing Navigator and Social Prescribing Link Worker across various GP surgeries across the city and is excited to support the ever-growing team of social prescribers across the city.
She spends most of her weekends attending live music events, collecting and listening to vinyl, and loves to spend time with friends and family as much as possible.
workforce team
joanna vintis
Joanna joined NGPS in October 2022, and is our Lead Nurse and Head of Workforce Development. She was previously a Practice Nurse for 12 years where she focused on long-term conditions management and women’s health. She has a passion for student education and has previously worked in Northumberland helping to increase student placements and develop training opportunities for the nursing workforce.
She is kept busy by her husband, two boys – Alexander and Nathaniel – two dogs and two cats and they enjoy spending time together but especially watching rugby.
joanne irving
Joanne joined us in 2023 as our Flexipool Nurse Supervisor and works in practice to train and develop Flexipool and Practice staff.
She was a Practice Nurse for 21 years in Gateshead and County Durham and has also worked as a Cervical Screening mentor for NUTH and GHFT, visiting GP surgeries in the North East to train and mentor nurses. She has a passion for women’s health and respiratory medicine.
Joanne is married to Chris and has two teenagers, Alice and Matthew, and cannot forget Betty the cat! She loves to read and enjoys history and watching true crime documentaries.
stephanie passmoor
Stephanie is our Workforce Manager and has been working with NGPS for four years, having joined to work in the vaccine programme in November 2021, supporting with rota management and site and bus locations.
She works in the Flexipool team, helping with the recruitment of new staff. Her passions include baking (which the team love!) and walking her dog Benji at the beach
vikki finnigan
Vikki is our office administrator and has been working with NGPS since the beginning of the year. She has several years of HR and office team leading experience, having worked primarily in the utilities sector and more recently in the education sector.
She works in the Flexipool team, helping with the recruitment and training of new staff. Her passions include interiors, travelling and spending time with her family.
research and development team
Hazel forsyth
Hazel joined NGPS in 2023 after working at Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust for 35 years. She brings with her a wealth of research, clinical and management experience having been involved in clinical research since 1988. She is passionate about promoting engagement and accessibility to research within the region and empowering the wider community to participate in clinical research. Hazel lives in Newcastle with her husband and chocolate Labrador Marty.
jodi fitzsimmons-mccoy
Jodi joined the team in 2024 as our Clinical Research Practitioner. Jodi has worked in the NHS since she was 19 years old and is dedicated to patient care. After completing a Biomedical Science degree at Newcastle University, she moved into clinical research with a view that everyone should have access to research regardless of age or circumstance.
She lives in Durham with her partner, her two young daughters, and her cats Pancho and Willow. She is trained in aromatherapy and loves to create natural holistic remedies for her friends and family.
Dr Becci coles
Becci has been a GP for 12 years, having moved to the north east to attend medical school. She has a special interest in diabetes and has led local research studies in this area. Becci is enthusiastic about making things better for patients everywhere through new discoveries and new evidence.
Kim webster
Kim joined NGPS as our Research Nurse in 2024 having worked at Newcastle Hospitals for the past 13 years, four years in clinical research. She is dedicated to ensuring everyone has the opportunity to contribute to and benefit from research and is committed to spreading awareness about the importance of research and its benefits to our community.
Kim lives in Newcastle with her husband, toddler and fox red labrador Rusty.
Vicky Slater
Vicky joined the NGPS team in 2025 as one of our research nurses. She has worked in the North East throughout her nursing career and has worked in research since 2018. Vicky is dedicated to offering research opportunities to all, so our healthcare reflects the needs of our diverse population.
Vicky lives in Newcastle with her wife, two cats Billy and Zoe, and two bunnies Sid and Poppy.
leigh romaniuk
Leigh joined NGPS in December 2025 as our clinical research facilitator. She had previously worked at Newcastle Hospitals for 18 years, with nearly six of them in clinical research and the rest spent as a clinical physiologist. She is passionate about making research accessible to all and empowering people to want to learn more.
Leigh lives in North Tyneside and in her spare time she enjoys craft and listening to audiobooks. She likes to make sure that the garden birds are fed and watered, which can be a challenge!
communications
Kate vogelsang
Kate has worked for NGPS as our Communications Manager since April 2019. She has more than 25 years’ experience in communications, marketing, and public relations – 20 years working in the public sector – and also runs her own communications consultancy. She supports NGPS to engage with our members and partners through several communication channels including our website, social media, events, and publications.
Kate lived and worked in London for 20 years before making the move to the North East in 2016 and is a qualified football coach. She lives with her wife and rescue dog, Cleo, in Durham.